Blog

Sadee Smile annual review

Touchstone’s SADEE SMILE project was a nine month pilot aimed at improving self-management of Type 2 diabetes within South Asian communities. Each course ran as an eight week structured diabetes education programme tailored specifically for South Asians and delivered in community languages (Urdu and Panjabi). The project was funded by Leeds City Council Public Health and delivered in partnership with Leeds Health Care NHS Trust and Health Together and Leeds Beckett University. The key outcome for the programme was for South Asians diagnosed with Type

2020-04-17T10:24:00+01:002nd December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

My brief story – Community Development Service case study

My name is Ikhtsham Lone. I’m a young man from Chapel Allerton and throughout my life, I had to live through somebody who was living with a mental illness. Things got so bad that it slightly broke the family apart. I ended up moving out but still went to visit my mother who was living with the mental illness. I eventually started realising the changes in her moods when she got in touch with Touchstone. I started to ask more

2020-04-17T10:23:55+01:002nd December 2016|Annual Report, Blog, Case Study|

Dosti annual review

Dosti is an Asian Women’s support service based in Leeds, offering a supportive environment for Asian women with mental health issues. In April 2016, Dosti joined Touchstone via a merger. Services are only offered through referrals which can be self-referrals or referrals from other professionals such as GPs. Access to the service is fast and in most cases the contact time is within one week of the referral being received. We offer one-to-one emotional support, counselling, relaxation techniques, CAB and advocacy support. Our services

2016-12-01T14:20:06+00:001st December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

Rehabilitation and Recovery Service annual review

The Recovery Centre at Asket House is an innovative partnership project comprising Touchstone, LYPFT, Community Links and Leeds Mind. Touchstone employs two full-time recovery workers, whose role is to form supportive relationships with service users on ward, then support them to move out into the community. Once the transition is complete, recovery workers can continue to provide support for an additional six months. The ethos behind the new project is that providing strong support following a move from hospital back into the community will

2020-04-17T10:23:55+01:001st December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

Support Centre annual review

Over the last year, the Support Centre has been busy implementing a new service model which includes: more peer-led social groups and popup groups; volunteers supporting different groups – such as the Women’s Group – Men’s Group and Social Group. Contributions from five Social Work students who have been on placement from Bradford University have also helped to support the change required to deliver a service that is sustainable and continues to meet the diverse needs of our service users. The new model

2020-04-17T10:23:56+01:001st December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

WorkPlace Leeds annual review

Touchstone works in partnership with Leeds Mind and Community Links to support individuals to achieve their employability goals. All clients are referred to the Touchstone worker via the community mental health teams in Leeds where the Employment Specialists are co-located. Touchstone has one allocated worker a Mental Health Employment Specialist who offers a client centred approach to identifying Employment, Training and Education goals through one-to-one and Group work. The Employment Specialist may also support the individual to access sessions that support a client

2020-04-17T10:24:06+01:001st December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

Better in Kirklees annual review

Better in Kirklees (BiK) social prescribing service uses an holistic approach to support people to be active and involved in their community, keeping people happier, healthier and independent for longer. We started taking referrals in April 2016 and by July we had 98 people! We connect the people we work with to a wide range of community activities, support and networks such as arts and cultural groups, sports activities, environmental projects and friendship groups. BiK workers talk to each person about how

2020-04-17T10:18:23+01:001st December 2016|Annual Report, Blog, Social Prescribing|

"Thank you for giving me my life back" – Kirklees Peer-Led Brokerage Service case study

After having an epileptic fit I became very poorly. I couldn’t communicate with people – verbally or otherwise. I became very distant from everyone. The impact on my family was huge. Everybody was stressed and worried about me all the time. My dad lost his sense of humour and my parents took time off work to look after me. It didn’t make any sense to me at all. I was trapped, I knew what I wanted to say but I

2020-04-17T10:23:54+01:001st December 2016|Annual Report, Blog|

Thank you, Dosti – focus, friendship and confidence

Two of the women who attend the Dosti group tell their story and explain the difference the support of the group has made to them. I used to attend ESOL classes, but my asthma got really bad so I stopped going. I then stayed at home. My husband passed away in 2011 and my life completely changed. I suffered from severe depression and never left the house, stayed at home

2016-11-28T10:10:23+00:0028th November 2016|Blog, Case Study|

Where leaders are going wrong

A guest blog post by Jolyon Kimble of APCO Worldwide. Last week we held a discussion on leadership with two remarkable leaders. One was Lord Browne, former boss of one of the world's biggest energy companies. As many people know, he's white, and a man. The other was Alison Lowe, Labour Councillor and head of a mental health charity in the north of England. Alison is black, and a woman.

2020-04-17T10:23:53+01:0025th November 2016|Blog, Partnership|